***Official Streaming Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and other streaming sites thread***

[CalPolyTechnique]

Nice.

 

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

The Curious Case Of Natalie Grace on Max and I think Hulu. Craziest crap I've ever seen. Disturbing, confusing, and too real to be fake.

 

[Runwildboys]

I finally got to the end of "Vikings" on Amazon Prime. I really like the show and wish there were more episodes but I also have to admit it was like two different shows. The first 4 seasons were great. Seasons 5 and 6 lacked the same power but were still good. There was so much to like about the first 4 seasons. Some of the scenes with Ragnar and King Ecbert were absolutely fantastic and some of the best I have scene in any series. Seasons 5 and 6 lacked anything like that. I think they tried to recreate similar scenes with Floki and Ubbe, Bjorn and Ivar, and others but those scenes did not come close.

That's not to say this series was perfect. There were many flaws I think. The series was a blend of historic facts and fantastic fiction. All the main characters actually existed in the past, but aside of that most of it was fiction. The truth is Viking history is not always clear so taking license with the story seems to be less of an issue. At the same time we do know certain facts and the show dismissed some of those for the same of entertainment. So if you are looking for a documentary, this is not it. Often the series uses some historical events but attributes them to characters in the show instead of the actual Viking figures who were involved.

I am not bothered by the historical creativity, with the exception of the ending. I give the series a solid 8 of 10 and seasons 1-4 a 9 of 10. If this show did not air originally on the history channel and instead had the budget of HBO, it could have been even better I think.

Spoiler

It seems like some series are difficult to end. One technique writers seem to rely on to end shows is to kill off everyone either literally or symbolically. Vikings takes that approach. Lagertha, Bjorn, King Harold, and even Ivar all die in the last 2 seasons. In reality we know that some of these characters died in old age. Some we do not know what happened to them. I think killing everyone off at the end is taking the easy way out of the story.
.

Spoiler: The turning point for me

As soon as Ragnar died, the show went downhill very quickly. It wasn't terrible, but it was a shadow of its former self. The relationship between Ragnar and Lagertha was beautiful, as was Lagertha's skills in battle, in those earlier days. She was the most believable bad azz woman warrior I think I've ever seen. Also, Ragnar was an extremely likable and interesting character; traits they couldn't recreate after his death.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Blood and Gold - Newer foreign film on netflix. Gives you english dub or subtitles.
At the end of World War II, a German soldier is looking for his daughter while an SS troop is looking for a Jewish treasure.

Wow...really liked this movie. Did not know much about it going in so expectations was low. However this is like a foreign Tarantino type film. Has that vibe to it. Now the dialogue was not well done as a QT movie but everything else was done well. If you like WWII action movies and you like QT movies....I think you will like this one as well.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Benji on ESPN+ 30 for 30.

Don’t remember this when it happened mid-80’s, but tragic story of a Chicago high school basketball phenom who played like a cross between Oscar Robertson and George Gervin. He was the #1 ranked player in country going into his senior year and was shot and killed.

For those who saw Air recently on Amazon Prime, Matt Damon’s character, Sonny Vaccaro, was highly involved with this kid. Even helped his mother sue the hospital that let him die and forced Chicago to change the law that trauma patients still had to go to the local hospital even if there was no trauma center.

Also has the first interview with the guy who shot and killed him who is now works for a charity to help reform prisoners when they get out. Strong stuff. If you like 30 for 30, this is definitely one of their best episodes.

 

[Tabascocat]

I just finished Reacher on Prime, was surprisingly good

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I just finished Reacher on Prime, was surprisingly good

Enjoyed the series as well. I think they are still working on season two but it seems like is has been forever.

 

[VaqueroTD]

I just finished Reacher on Prime, was surprisingly good

Yes, much better than the movies.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Robbing Mossulini on Netflix
A Milanese wartime entrepreneur forms a band of misfits and rogues to stage an elaborate heist of a legendary treasure belonging to Benito Mussolini.
Another good foreign WWII film on netflix
Enjoyed this but liked Blood and Gold better.

 

[CouchCoach]

Finished "Ted Lasso" last night and the creators of this got exactly what they wanted, a truly feel good story that they probably could have milked for at least two more seasons but decided to do it right.

They did an excellent job with bouncing from the absurdity, and hilarity, of the Diamond Dogs to real life's issues and the sadness that can bring. They developed characters I cared about and put me on the "feelings roller coaster" that does represent real life's.

This was one of those that I really enjoyed the experience and was sad when it was over because I wanted more. But again, just like real life, you get what's served, not necessarily what you ordered. And this was just right.

 

[CouchCoach]

Spoiler: The turning point for me

As soon as Ragnar died, the show went downhill very quickly. It wasn't terrible, but it was a shadow of its former self. The relationship between Ragnar and Lagertha was beautiful, as was Lagertha's skills in battle, in those earlier days. She was the most believable bad azz woman warrior I think I've ever seen. Also, Ragnar was an extremely likable and interesting character; traits they couldn't recreate after his death.

Runny's spoiler is on point and they did such a job of establishing Ragnar, carrying on would be like doing that with Braveheart or Gladiator.

 

[Tabascocat]

The Curious Case Of Natalie Grace on Max and I think Hulu. Craziest crap I've ever seen. Disturbing, confusing, and too real to be fake.

I feel like this show needs its own thread. After watching it, I still don’t know who or what to believe

 

[Runwildboys]

Just watched S1 of American Born Chinese on Disney (if there's going to be more than one season, which seems likely) and I'm pleasantly surprised.

A mix of stylized kung foo and teenage high school angst, with a pretty good story. Found myself caring about the characters, which is always a good sign, @DallasEast , it costars Michelle Yeoh.

7/10

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Finished Ted Lasso the other night. Some plot points that wrapped up were a bit predictable but overall was a good, solid show and worth the watch.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Been on a Star Trek kick lately

Finally got around to finishing Picard and enjoyed the ending.

Went back and watched first season of Strange New Worlds since new season starts this month.

Now watching Discovery and am most of the way through first season. Forgot how much I enjoyed it.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Afterparty on Apple+. Same guy who made the 21 Jump Street movies. If you liked the humor in those you’ll enjoy this. Very funny. High school reunion 15 years later, one of the students became a pop star, and someone kills the Justin Bieber-esque character at his after party in his mansion. Murder mystery likes Knives Out but each episode is the point of view from a party member telling their side of the story to the detective. Each side of the story has a hilarious slant to that person’s personality but also includes or leaves out important clues that were in the other person’s story to screw with you and keep you guessing. Season 2 is out soon, my wife loved this, so I decided to catch up.

 

[CouchCoach]

Finished Ted Lasso the other night. Some plot points that wrapped up were a bit predictable but overall was a good, solid show and worth the watch.

I watched Shrinking after that and found that pretty funny and poignant at the same time.

Jason Segal is a shrink that recently lost his wife and Harrison Ford, his boss and a shrink, is recently diagnosed with Parkinson's. Quite the set up for a comedy/drama but it worked for me.

 

[Big_D]

We're not going to talk about the last episode of "Succession"?

It's over and I am going to miss it. But I have to say the season finale, though understandable in some ways, left me a little disappointed.

Spoiler

I always thought Shiv was the smart one but her rationale at the end made no sense. Her explanation for voting for the acquisition was that Kendall was not capable of running the company as CEO. But her buffoon other half is? Seriously, other than Greg, Tom is the last person who should run the company. Even Roman would be slightly better. At the same time she was angry about Tom getting picked while she was being lead on. II cannot imagine Shiv not feeling super vindictive to the point of voting for a mouse to run the company over Tom. But I get why they had to do it that way.

Spoiler

After all that Tom of all people takes over someone else’s company. I knew once they killed the big guy off that the show would take a turn for the worst. The kids were never likable to begin with so you really had no rooting interest one way or another. But that final decision by Shiv made no sense and that love/hate relationship between her and Tom really became tough to watch. IMO it was a terrible ending. They dragged out the “who will it be?" scenario as far as they could. It seemed like a good premise early on but it lost its appeal long before the finale. All 3 were backstabbing, sniveling brats. Kendall was really the only option by the end since Shiv made her bed with Matsson and Roman couldn't handle the pressure. Even Conner would've been a better choice than Tom.

 

[Creeper]

"Manifest". It is over. The second half of season 4 is on Netflix and this will be the final episodes, hopefully ever. The show starts with an interesting premise. An ordinary flight that was supposed to land in Queens New York never arrives - until 5 years later. For basically 5 seasons viewers follow the antics of one family who was returning from vacation on that flight - or at least part of the family. The mystery is, what happened? What caused it? blah, blah blah. It could have been really good but it devolved into a series of seemingly innocuous "quests" to follow some obscure clue to find out what they mean. After a while that gets boring, predictable, and repetitious. The family trying to figure out what happened receives clues and using some of the weirdest logic ever manages to derive some meaning from the clues that often leave you wondering, what!?

There is some bad acting all around and a lot of goofy dialogue. But there is some "feel good" stuff in there too so you don't walk away angry about how bad everything else is. I guess you could say there is some spirituality going on which you don't often see these days.

The last episode is actually much better than I expected for an ending to a show like this. It is a bit satisfying after a lot of nonsense.

Spoiler

If you are expecting an explanation for what was behind the weird phenomena you see every week, forget it. It never comes. What we surmise is the passengers were tested, but by whom remains a mystery. I supposed the insinuation is it was God testing a group of people to decide if the earth deserved another flood or if good still prevailed among mortals. But it seems to me God would already know that. He was not going to get any great revelations from the likes of Ben Stone. Still, I like the ending. All is good in the world, and everyone who survives lives happily every after it looks like.

I give if a 4 of 10. If there is nothing better to binge, I guess you could try "Manifest", but you will need a good supply of barf bags for the frequent goofy moments.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Flaming Hot on Disney or Hulu. Went in very cynical. A movie about a brand of Cheetos. But surprisingly decent movie, Prob 7-8/10. Motivational story in the corporate world, and a lot like the recent movie, Air.